1. Sarah Fincher Katie Wright Ashley Dovenmuehle
Soil and Plant Growth
Sarah Fincher
Katie Wright
Ashley Dovenmuehle
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2. Thematic Unit Theme: Soil and Plant Growth Grade: 3
Time Frame: 10 days
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3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Literature
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
A Handful of Dirt by R. Bial
Gardens from Garbage by J. Handelsman
Young Gardener by S. Buczacki
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4. Modification for Language Learners
ESL students
Spanish English dictionary/partner available for trouble with word meanings (Day 2) .
Use of multiple visuals (Posters, drawings, digital images). “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Secret Garden grouping with two ELL students and English speaking students may be beneficial because through communication
Lots of hands on activities
Use of repetition to emphasize important ideas and increase retention
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5. Graphic Organizer To insert this slide into your presentation
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6. Unit Introduction How much soil is there on earth?
Go through the apple cutting activity, which provides students with a powerful visual of just how little of the earth’s surface is able to grow plants.
10% of the earth’s surface, what we depend on for the world’s food supply, is displayed to the class by the small sliver of apple that is left after cutting everything else away.
Explain to the students that this small amount of “good” soil is only one of the factors that limit plant growth; light, water and nutrients still have to be considered. They will now go on a journey to learn more about what plants need to grow.
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7. Day 1 Objectives: Science 2.01 Lesson: Materials: Activity:
TSWBAT use the five senses to write about soil
Lesson:
Components of Soil
Materials:
soil, Dixie cups, paper and pencil
Activity:
List, Group, Label, and Write
List soil characteristics from memory
Group into 5 senses category
Groups receive cups of soil to observe and write new qualities
Group terms back into the 5 senses
Come back as a class to take examples from each group and categorize the examples
Discuss all components of soil
Assessment:
Students write one paragraph using 5 senses to describe properties of soil
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8. Day 2 Objectives: Reading 1.05
TSWBAT create a talking drawing and demonstrate decoding skills and knowledge of new meanings
Lesson:
Vocabulary Introduction and Dictionary Skills
Materials:
Spelling list, worksheet (predictions/corrections), pencils, mini posters, crayons, dictionaries
Activity:
Students work with partners and predict meaning of selected words (use spelling, meaning, and decoding skills)
Review Dictionary skills; students find words in dictionary and write the correct meanings
Students use talking drawings in pairs for one word and share with partners
Assessment:
Rubric for talking drawings
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9. Day 3 Objectives: Lesson:
Reading 4.03
Science 2.03
TSWBAT share written and oral products in a presentation
Lesson:
Plant Growth and Writing
Materials: overhead visuals, blank notes worksheet, Secret Garden Novels, paper and pencil, materials for props
Activity:
Teacher gives direct instruction for concepts of plant growth and soil (use of visuals and verbal emphasis on key words)
Students receive worksheet with key concepts and fill in the blanks that the teacher guides them to complete (keep for future reference)
Students in process of reading Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (guided reading/read aloud)
At point where Mary is planting her garden
After reading the chapter aloud, give students the following prompt-
Share in paragraph form or in a presentation on how Mary got her garden to grow.
Students can work alone or in groups and must share results in class
Assessment: Presentation of paragraphs (rubric)
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10. Day 4 Objectives: Lesson: Materials: Activity Assessment: Science2.04
TSWBAT complete worksheet based on observations of soil properties
Lesson:
Basic Composition of Soil/ Start Webquest
Materials:
Samples of soil, computers, and bottles, seeds, scissors, and paper towels for earth system in a bottle activity
Activity
Review Properties of soil
Bring in samples of humus, clay, sand, silt, and gravel
Each table observes and feels the differences in the components of soil and students complete a worksheet with guiding chart to draw observations
Share directions for webquest
Start earth system in a bottle
Start working on webquest
Assessment:
Worksheets showing observations (graded on effort)
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11. Day 5 Day 5 Objectives: Social Studies 5.06 Lesson: Materials:
SWBAT complete a KWL chart and add valuable comments in a class discussion
Lesson:
Soil Contribution to Economy
Materials:
KWL charts
Activity:
Discuss importance of Agriculture (in communities)
KWL chart independently about agriculture and economy
Local farmer visits and discusses one form of agriculture that is popular in this region
Students learn how the popular crop is grown, harvested, and where it is sold
Discuss as a class what would happen if the farmer had nowhere to sell crops or consumers had nowhere to buy this crop
Continue Webquest
Assessment: Completion of KWL Chart and student responses in discussion
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12. Day 6 Objectives: Social Studies 4.04
TSWBAT compare and observe how tree farmers adapt to the environment to fit their needs through discussion
Lesson:
Farmers adapting to the environment
Materials: Notebook for writing observations
Activity
Short discussion on chemicals added to soil, crop rotation, irrigation
Ask students “ Have your parents ever used fertilizer or a water hose?” Connect to how farmers modify environment to meet needs
Field Trip to local tree farm to observe the environment being changed to meet the needs of the plants ( temperature, water, light, etc.)
Continue Webquest
Assessment: Responses to discussion
Home Learning: Make a list of 5 important things you learned from the fieldtrip and share with parents
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13. Day 7 Objectives: Science 2.02 Lesson: Webquest
Materials: Computers, posters, crayons
Activity
Devote time to completing webquest component of water
Assessment
Check process of webquest poster (facts and pictures)
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14. Day 8 Day 8 Objectives: Science 1.01
TSWBAT complete a worksheet comparing the earth system bottles
Lesson: Observing how certain qualities affect plant growth
Materials: worksheet, paper and pencil
Activity
Give students worksheet with space for drawing that includes questions about all of the earth system bottles (measure how the qualities and quantities of light, water, soil, and nutrients affected plant growth)
Assessment
Based on what students learned, they can compose 2 paragraphs to record predictions on how successful team’s bottle will be
Worksheet on earth system bottles
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15. Day 9 Objectives: Social Studies 5.03
TSWBAT present results from taking on the roles of farmers and apply concepts of specialization in the local community
Lesson: Concepts of specialization of labor in the local community
Materials: cards for different roles, posters for presentations
Activity
Each table will be assigned a self-sustaining farming career
Class period spent reproducing farming roles in a game.
Groups will practice modeling buying, selling, dealing, growing, harvesting, and surviving natural disasters based on cards of the game
Students receive better understanding of what it is like being a farmer in a community
Assessment
Presentation of each group displays how much money they earned and lost, their struggles, their successes, and their connections to the real world farmers
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16. Display Bulletin Board with Webquest Posters
Day 10
Objectives: Reading 3.01
TSWBAT create a newspaper article displaying new knowledge about plants and information related to the Secret Garden
Lesson: Creating Newspaper Articles
Materials: paper and pencil, computers, unit notes
Activity:
Each student will create newspaper article to reflect what they learned about plants and from their readings of the Secret Garden to describe their insights (encouraged to add charts, tables, graphs, and pictures)
As a class, the articles will be typed on the computer and combined to make a newspaper section
Contact the local newspaper publisher to see if they could print a real copy for each student
Assessment
Rubric for articles will be used
Display Bulletin Board with Webquest Posters
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17. Earth System in a Bottle
Bulletin Board Idea
Photos of the students working
Earth System in a Bottle
A basic overview of the different topics we covered
Photo 1
Student Writings throughout Unit
Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Overview
Students Posters of Earth System in a bottle.
Writing
Writing
Writing
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Poster #1
Poster #2
Poster #3
Poster #4

18. Webquest http://teacherweb.com/WQ/ElementarySchool/Soil/
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19. Resources
Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. New York: Signet Classic, 1987.
This book tells of the journey of a young girl named Mary Lennox as she is orphaned by her parents and forced to live at her uncles estate. She learns to accept her surroundings and along the way discovers a garden that she makes her own.
NCFB-Ag in the Classroom. Online. 16 November < ssroom.com/>
This website was very useful in providing hands on activities for students that related to our subject area of soil, plants and gardening.
Wood, Karen D. and Taylor, Bruce D. Literacy Strategies Across the Subject Areas. Boston: Pearson, 2006.
This book provided many valuable ideas and strategies for literacy that could be integrated in a variety of subject areas. Having such versatility to be incorporated in any subject area, these strategies were a huge success in our planning. They also allowed us to integrate subjects, a very important part of unit planning and implementing.
Bial, R. (2000). A Handful of Dirt. New York: Walter and Company.
This book gives a simple, yet informative overview of the properties of soil. A summary of where you can find soil introduces future topics on the book such as how soil is created, what soil is made up of, what lives in soil, the decomposition of soil, and the contribution of soil to gardens.
Buczacki, S. & Buczacki, B. (2006). Young Gardner. London: Frances Lincoln Limited.
This text elaborates on how plants use soil to survive. Although there are activities to try, the greatest benefit of this book is its explanations for how plants grow, what soil is made up of, and how seasons affect what happens in gardens and its relationship to soil.
Handelsman, J. (1993). Gardens from Garbage. Connecticut: The Millbrook Press.
The focus of this book centers on composting and how people can recycle discarded plant and animal material. Readers learn about the relationships between heat and decaying plant matter in a compost pile.
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20. Favorite Components
Sarah: Modeling the roles of farmers and the specialization of labor in communities
Katie: Cutting of the apple to represent what portion of the earth can produce crops
Ashley: Variety of activities available
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